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A review by bibliophilebookclub
You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood
ou Don’t Know Me is one book I’d been waiting to read when I’d heard the buzz surrounding it. Essentially, it is a legal thriller, but it is written in a very unusual style if you were to compare it to others in a similar genre.
We meet the defendant, unnamed, and accused of murder. Having fired his lawyer, he decides to give his own account of what happened. Eight pieces of evidence are used in the case, and the defendant talks the jury, and the reader, through each one.
Told in the first person, using his own colloquialisms, You Don’t Know Me is a very different book. The defendant takes us through how he ended up in the dock accused of murder. His tale is an epic one, with so many different characters being brought into the narrative.
Gang culture, morality and murder are all addressed in the defendants speech. How he got to where he is now is just one of the avenues explored in his testimony. The defendant is the only voice (until the end) and the reader comes to know him a little bit more through every monologue he gives.
You Don’t Know Me is different, and odd, but it is very compelling to read. Did he do it? Why is he there? Ultimately, the reader is left with some unanswered questions but the author has written a very clever novel. It is evident that he comes from a legal background.
Compulsive, clever, and more than a little frustrating at times, You Don’t Know Me is divisive, and definitely one to watch.
Recommended!
We meet the defendant, unnamed, and accused of murder. Having fired his lawyer, he decides to give his own account of what happened. Eight pieces of evidence are used in the case, and the defendant talks the jury, and the reader, through each one.
Told in the first person, using his own colloquialisms, You Don’t Know Me is a very different book. The defendant takes us through how he ended up in the dock accused of murder. His tale is an epic one, with so many different characters being brought into the narrative.
Gang culture, morality and murder are all addressed in the defendants speech. How he got to where he is now is just one of the avenues explored in his testimony. The defendant is the only voice (until the end) and the reader comes to know him a little bit more through every monologue he gives.
You Don’t Know Me is different, and odd, but it is very compelling to read. Did he do it? Why is he there? Ultimately, the reader is left with some unanswered questions but the author has written a very clever novel. It is evident that he comes from a legal background.
Compulsive, clever, and more than a little frustrating at times, You Don’t Know Me is divisive, and definitely one to watch.
Recommended!